Formula Wing World Championships - Day 1

Wednesday, 24th September

Tactical minefield confuses even the best

Four long-distance races on day one set the tone for a competitive Formula Wing World Championships. 93 competitors from 22 countries are racing each other for the first ever Formula Wing world title.

A warm north-westerly Mistral was gusting offshore from Cagliari as the men and women launched out of their high-speed rabbit starts. Last year’s Wingfoil Racing World Cup champion Mathis Ghio started his campaign poorly, coming across the first finish line in just 18th place. But the flying Frenchman pulled himself together for the next three heats.

Ghio admitted he had got a bit lost in the tactical minefield of a race course that always threw a random gust, shift or wind hole at them. “I was feeling extremely fast but it’s useless to be fast if you find yourself going in the wrong direction,” he said. “I felt I needed to focus a lot more and play better with the wind, and not take so much risk. That’s what I did for the three races after that first race and I tried to keep it simple.”

Ghio comes out on top of the men’s standings after today’s racing with winner of the first race, Italy’s Alessandro Tomasi pushing himself into the red zone in the variable wind conditions. “I was pumping the foil hard at some points,” he said. “I didn’t have a heart monitor on but I think my heart rate was up at 195, maybe even 200 sometimes.”

In the women’s competition, Maddalena Spanu won three out of the four heats. Even after a poor start in race two, the 18-year-old from Italy managed to salvage a fifth place by the finish. “I had a wrong start but I’m proud of myself how I managed to come back from that and get a good result.”

The only other women’s race winner was France’s Vaina Picot who won race two despite a crash at the start. “Four long races in a day, it’s a lot and I’m quite tired now, but I’m super happy how things have gone,” she said.

Formula Wing World Championships - Day 1 Results — Formula Wing World Championships – Day 1 Results

The points remain tight as the riders get ready for Day 2 in Cagliari, and the start of the short-course phase of the competition. Racing takes place out of Poetto Beach in Cagliari from 24 to 28 September. Results are updated as they happen, racing is being tracked, and the final days will be live streamed on FaceBook and YouTube. For all the updates, and exclusive content, follow @wingfoilracing on social media.